Bang!
by HR always live on
Summary: Set during 10:5. Won't say anymore here in case you haven't seen it yet. HR. CHAPTER 6 Posted. xx
1. Chapter 1

_What if the car bomb in 10:5 had gone off on the way to the American Embassy…_

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><p>Ruth sat next to the Home Secretary in the back of the car, thinking hard about what she was about to do. And why she was going to do it. Her fingers kept fiddling with the laptop case and she was really worried about the American scanners. She did not want to be caught. How could Harry ask this of her? But why on earth had she agreed? The small voice in her ear reminded her that she wouldn't back out at this point. Whatever the consequences she'd do it for him.<p>

"You're quiet this morning," Towers said to her. Ruth shrugged slightly.

"I'm fine," she said briefly. Then she lost track of what she was going to say as she looked out of the tinted window. A white van came careering around the corner at breakneck speed. Their own car screeched to a halt as the van blocked the road.

"Stay in the car," the driver said firmly as he shut the door on them and walked closer to the van, gun raised. Ruth watched anxiously and then it hit her what was going to happen.

"Oh my God," she murmured.

"What is it?" Towers asked, looking at her briefly.

"Its… it's a… bomb," she said in a quiet whisper. She never got any further than that. The noise was deafening and Ruth closed her eyes hoping for the world to stop exploding.

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><p><em>Just a short chapter to kick off. Will write more if there's interest.<em> 


	2. Chapter 2

Harry walked to Callum's desk impatiently. "Has she arrived at the embassy yet?" Harry asked. Callum shook his head.

"She should be there in about five minutes, let me just bring up the CCTV to see if they're on track." Harry nodded waiting for the image to come on screen.

"I have to go, but I want to be updated every single step of the way," Harry said. "I want to know the second there's a problem." Harry stepped away when Callum confirmed that he would.

"Yeah, of course Ha…" Callum's voice tailed off and for a brief moment Harry wondered what on earth could have made the tech speechless. He had never seen Callum speechless.

"What is it?" Harry asked, going back behind the screen.

"Car bomb gone off in Whitehall," Callum said, waiting for Harry's explosion from behind him.

"Tell me you are joking," Harry said menacingly. Callum silently brought up distant CCTV imaging, showing a black, blown out car and smoke rising from two vehicles. "Tell me that's not the Home Secretary's car." Harry said. "Tell me its not his car." Harry took a breath as the silence was damning. "Get emergency services down there now. I'm going."

"Harry!" Erin called from the other side of the grid. He didn't even stop to talk to her. He couldn't. Ruth was in that car. Oh, God, she couldn't be… dead, he thought as he exited the pods and walked briskly towards the lifts, to get out of Thames House. She just… she couldn't be.


	3. Chapter 3

_Quick little update..._

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><p>Ruth opened her eyes to an aching, stinging, burning pain in her left leg and a roaring in her ears. She could feel the tarmac beneath her face and tried to sit up. It hurt and took her a while to do it but she managed it. She couldn't move her left leg at all. She braced herself and had a look at it. "Oh my God," she murmured. Between her knee and her ankle, the skin was completely burnt off and it looked a really angry red, dotted with pieces of black. Black which, as the smell reached her nose, she realised was her own charred flesh. "Shit."<p>

Then a thought occurred to her. Ruth knew she was just collateral damage, the real target had been Towers. She looked around her but through the smoke she couldn't see anyone around her at all and she had absolutely no chance of moving more than a few inches. Ruth could hear sirens and felt relieved that ambulances were on the way. Hopefully Section D would get to work on finding the bombers. Section D. Harry, she thought suddenly. Would he know yet? He'd probably be worried about her. A part of her selfishly hoped he would be at least a little worried for her personally, rather than just the simple fact that the laptop was now permanently out of their reach.

She looked to the right and saw the flashing lights of an ambulance. She breathed a sigh of relief. Soon she'd be in hospital, which at the moment felt like the best place for her.

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><p><em>Reviews are very welcome!<em>


	4. Chapter 4

Harry had passed the site of the car bomb in the car but it was already cordoned off. He had a word with the man in charge of the bomb site and learned that the injured had been taken to St Josephs hospital. Before he left for the hospital he found out one more disturbing thought. There had been one fatality so far. Someone was dead on impact but he had no details on who. Panicking slightly he drove faster than was wise towards the hospital. He had to see her. She couldn't be dead. If she was…

Swallowing the thought away, he became frustrated waiting at a red traffic light. "Come on!" he growled to himself. This was taking too long.

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><p><em>I know its a tiny update but its better than nothing! (At least I hope so!)<br>_


	5. Chapter 5

_A nice longer chapter here._

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><p>As soon as he arrived at the hospital, Harry kept an eye out for her. He couldn't see her at first glance so he walked up to the nurse at reception. "Ruth Evershed?"<p>

The nurse flicked through her clipboard quickly. "Are you family?"

"I… I'm an old friend," Harry said slowly.

"I'm sorry, I can't release information to non family members," the nurse said. Harry sighed, trying to reign in his patience, with difficulty.

"Just tell me that she's alive," Harry said desperately. "Tell me that she isn't… dead. Tell me I don't have to…" Harry swallowed uncomfortably. "To go to her funeral. Tell me I haven't lost her. Please, please just tell me that. I couldn't bear it if… I need to know she's alive." The nurse seemed to consider him for a moment.

"She's alive," the nurse said quietly. Harry felt the relief flow through him and almost collapsed against the reception desk. "Miss Evershed is behind curtain five in the ER," the nurse said. "And you did not hear that from me."

"Thank you," Harry said sincerely and with feeling. The nurse nodded and got back to her paperwork with a small smile, letting Harry walk away from her. Old friend, she thought to herself. She didn't believe that for a second.

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><p>Ruth sat on a hospital bed, incredibly annoyed. They had given her some painkillers but they didn't seem to be working and the throbbing in her leg was just getting worse. But on the positive her hearing was coming back somewhat. It was now a high pitched ringing in her ears but she could actually hear people talk now. She saw someone pulling open the curtain and sighed as she recognised Harry. She saw the relief on his face instantly and then he caught sight of her leg, which didn't look any better by having the harsh hospital lights shining on it.<p>

"Oh Ruth," he said sadly. He walked closer to her and sat down next to her. "Are you…" he was going to ask if she were okay, but that seemed rather pointless with her very obvious injury.

"I got off lightly considering," Ruth said. "I hear the driver died." Harry nodded. "What about Towers?"

"Lucky bastard got away with just a few scratches, nothing as bad as this," he said indicating her leg. She felt a brief flash of anger at him for that. She knew it looked horrible but did he have to point it out so bluntly?

"You don't have to stay," she said quickly. "I know its bad…" she tailed off as Harry gripped hold of her hand tightly.

"I'm staying," he said in a voice which brooked no argument. The touch was electric and all too soon it was broken as his hand fell from hers.

Ruth nodded once. "I'm sorry about the laptop."

"Oh, I don't care," Harry said shaking his head. "Well, I do. Of course I do, but not nearly as much as you." Then he realised what he'd said. And she saw the significance too. Before she could even think of anything to say a female doctor came around the corner to deal with her leg.

"Are you in pain?" Harry asked her carefully.

"No," she said quickly not caring that she was lying.

"Okay, I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt," the doctor said. "I have to remove the dead and charred skin so the leg has a chance to heal."

"Okay," Ruth replied, preparing herself for the pain.

"Also, you have two choices while you're recovering," the doctor continued. "You can stay in the hospital or you can go home and come back once a day to have it checked."

"I'll go home," Ruth said firmly. She had no joy of being in hospitals.

"Ruth…" Harry started.

"No, I'll go home Harry," she said firmly. He looked into her blue eyes and knew it was pointless arguing. "Ah!" Ruth gasped as a shock of pain went through her. The doctor had started to take off the charred skin off with a pair of tweezers and it hurt like hell. Harry gripped her hand tightly as the second shock went through her. She was grateful for it. His touch on her skin gave her something else to think about. Ruth tried to keep her moaning to a minimum but it really hurt. And she could see how uncomfortable Harry was at seeing her in pain. Every time she gasped he squeezed her hand tightly.

After what felt like hours (but was only about 45 minutes) her leg was clean. She had burn cream of some description rubbed on her skin which actually soothed her a little. It took the edge off the pain. She was bandaged up, given a prescription, both for painkillers and the burn cream and told she could go home.

"That's it?" Harry asked, letting go of her hand. "That's all you're going to do for her?"

"There's nothing more we can do," the doctor said. She has to keep putting the cream on the burn and come in for check ups everyday to make sure its not infected. Also bathe it in cold water. We can't do anything more." Ruth watched them argue and she allowed herself a small smile. It was nice knowing he cared.

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><p><em>I have done some research but I apologise for all medical inaccuracies. Totally my fault.<br>_

_This is as far as the plausible storyline goes but I have one more chapter semi written of completely unrealistic fluff lined up if people want it._


	6. Chapter 6

_Last chapter here. Enjoy_

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><p>Harry unlocked her door and helped her walk to the sofa. She couldn't walk properly on her own. "Harry, I know you have things to do," she said quickly.<p>

"What? Watch my career sink without a trace while they try to throw me in prison?" Harry said sarcastically. "I think I'd much rather be with you."

"Do you really think you'll go to prison?" Ruth asked worried. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what the future, or lack of one had in store for him.

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><p>"Can you help me?" Ruth asked, slightly embarrassed. Harry nodded and waited for her to continue. "Can you help me take the bandages off? They're getting really tight."<p>

"Of course I will," Harry said in a soft voice which made her heart skip a beat. He carefully pulled her leg into his lap and started unwrapping the bandage. She sucked in her breath. It hurt, she couldn't deny that. "Sorry," Harry said as he continued, as lightly as he could.

"Mm, not your fault," she said with her eyes closed. Eventually the bandage was off and Harry looked at her burnt skin, feeling awful that this could happen to her. Ruth suddenly felt very self conscious and shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll be back in a second," Harry said quickly. He got up before she could say a word. She felt horribly embarrassed that he saw her vulnerability like this. Before she could get further in her silent and depressive musings Harry came back holding a large bowl of water.

"What are you…?" Ruth asked confused. He took up his place on the sofa, taking her leg back and then she realised what he was going to do. "Oh no, no, no. You really don't have to do that."

"I know, but I want to," Harry said quietly. "And I know you're in pain. I can tell, even as well as you're trying to hide it."

"But…" she never got any further. Harry had dipped a cloth in the bowl of cold water and then softly ran it over her burnt ankle. "Oh my God," she said as the pain relief hit her. The water was incredibly cool on her irritated skin and it felt so good.

"I'm not hurting you?" Harry asked after a moment.

"Oh, no," she said in a sigh. Harry smiled and continued to work on her injured leg, his hands rising slightly. After several minutes of silence Harry's hands slowed significantly. "Don't stop," Ruth whispered. "That feels amazing." He smiled again, especially when she started blushing when she realised what she'd said. "I… I meant…"

"Sh," Harry said easily. "I know what you meant." He dipped the cloth in the cool water again and eventually his hands ended up just below her knee. He desperately wanted to continue his journey up and touch some of her skin that wasn't painful, but he knew it would be taking advantage of her, and he didn't want that. He didn't want any of their intimate moments to happen because she was strung out on pain medication. It wasn't right for either of them. As he had been thinking about this he turned and looked at her face. She had fallen asleep. He smiled, she looked so peaceful and so very beautiful. He took a minute before moving away from her. He looked around and found a blanket which he draped over her carefully. Then he leant over her face and kissed her temple lightly.

"I love you," he murmured. He kissed her hair softly in a silent goodbye. He was about to get up when he felt her holding tightly to his hand.

"I love you too," she whispered with her eyes still closed.

"Call if you need anything," he told her. She nodded slightly before slipping completely into the realm of sleep. Harry watched her for several more minutes before leaving her house, making sure the door was locked behind him.

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><p><em>A review would be lovely.<em>


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